Our reconstruction of accidents involving consumer products determines whether such products caused or contributed to the accident. Work in this area also includes determining whether revision of the product or related product systems was feasible and required for safety.

●determine whether such products had adequate warnings

●determine whether such equipment conformed to appropriate:

accepted engineering practices

codes and standards

regulations, including state and federal regulations for safety

●furniture and household appliances:

walk-behind lawnmowers

riding lawnmowers

snowblowers

string trimmers

ladders, etc.

●infant and young children products:

strollers

highchairs

child car seats, etc.

●recreational equipment and equipment for outdoors:

swimming pools and decks

grills

playground equipment

exercise equipment

bicycles, etc.

●motor vehicles:

automobiles

motorcycles

trucks, etc.

various types of chairs

kitchen appliances

Madden

Accident

Analysis &

Forensic

Engineering

MAAFE

Consultation is available before starting a case. We invite you to

consult with us. There is no charge for an initial phone consultation.

Call us, or if you prefer we can schedule the consultation in advance.

Consultation with James D. Madden, PE, a Professional Engineer, and Forensic

Engineering Consulting and Testifying Expert Witness, is available to the client at all

times during the work - before, during, and after the investigation,

engineering analysis, reconstruction, report, and any other work on the case.

The qualifications of James D. Madden, P.E., Senior Forensic Engineer, Consulting and Testifying

Contact us by phone, fax, mail or email for a copy of the Fee Schedule for charges for engineering

and consulting services and testimony. Click a button below for contact information.

Contact information

Fee Schedule

Over the last 30 years we have regularly worked on accidents which occurred in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York and nearby, including inspections of accident sites, equipment, and facilities, with reports and testimony. During these 30 years we have also worked on accidents which occurred in other states, and equipment and facilities located in other states, with inspections of accident sites, equipment, and facilities, from Utah and Kansas to Vermont and North Carolina, with reports and testimony for these accidents, when applicable.

Geographic Area of Practice - North America

Contact us to discuss your case by phone atNO CHARGE.

This consultation can be scheduled in advance to meet your schedule.

● took extensive college coursework in engineering design of equipment

* these accidents are analyzed using the same engineering principles and experience

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click on underlined words to use links - if no word is underlined try hovering the mouse over words to see underlines

earned the Professional Engineers license (P.E.) by taking the National Council of Engineering Examiners' (NCEE) examination in Fundamentals of Engineering and the Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering sections of the NCEE examination in Principles and Practices of Engineering

designated a Diplomate Forensic Engineer by the National Academy of Forensic Engineers in accordance with the standards of the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB)

Our Engineering Analysis of Consumer Products

Examples of Consumer ProductsWe have Analyzed

• including residential and recreational products, and vehicles

<< click for a description of the typical activities and work performed

over 175 incidents involving mechanical consumer products and industrial and commercial equipment have been investigated and reconstructed as part of the forensic engineering work during the last 30 years

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<< click for examples of Consumer Products analyzed

Our Work with Consumer Products includes the investigation and reconstruction of accidents associated with these products, and the investigation and engineering analysis of operation and/or failureof the involved product, when either occurs.

Our work includes assessment of the activities of the persons involved in the accident as these activities relate to the product involved. Engineering analysis of the design, construction, and assembly of the involved product is included in our work. In particular we assess and evaluate the conformance of the equipment to the requirements of Safety Designprinciples and the applicable Codes, Standards and Recommended Practices. We determine the requirements for the presence of safety features including Safeguards (such as mechanical guards and instrumentation) and Warnings, and determine whether the required safety features were in place and performing properly at the time of the subject accident.

Our work includes assessment of the operation of the involved product, particularly as it relates to safety and the accident events, both as a result of the accident events and as the cause of accident events, when either, or both, is the case.

Our engineering analyses of consumer products cover mechanical failure, safety designand safety features. Safety features analyzed include safeguards(such as mechanical guards and instrumentation) and warnings. These analyses are for the purpose of determining the safety of these products, and if they are unsafe, the source of this defect. Our engineering analyses are discussed further in 'Our Engineering Analysis' below. Also see 'Typical Work' below for other activities typically involved in our work. Click on the red underlined words in this website to link to the sections named.

Our reconstruction of accidents involving consumer products determines whether such products caused or contributed to the accident. Work in this area also includes determining whether revision of the product was feasible and required for safety.

Our analysis of consumer product accidents includes consideration of the human-mechanical interface in the accident, as understood through Human Factors and from extensive experience in the safety design of mechanical equipment. See 'Experience and Qualifications...' below for this experience and the other qualifications for work with Consumer Product Accidents. Also see''Engineering Design' on another page for examples of equipment, equipment systems and facilities designed while a design engineer.

Commonalities in mechanical Consumer Products - are important in the forensic analysis of accidents and incidents and the analysis of the involvement of such consumer products in an accident. Different types of consumer products (as well as industrial, commercial and construction equipment) have the same or very similar requirements for mechanical integrity, stability, safety design, safety features and performance, control and safe operation, as they relate to safety.

Consumer Products and the need for mechanical integrity, stability, performance and control, as they relate to safety, and safe operation, and safety features as related to an accident, are analyzed by us using generally accepted engineering and safety design principles, including the safety design hierarchy. These engineering principles have application to all mechanical consumer products and all mechanical consumer product accidents, and are used in the analysis of the requirements for, and the use and performance of, safety features in consumer products. The safety effects, if any, of the requirements of applicable Standards & Codes are considered in all these analyses.

Mechanical integrity is the ability of equipment and products to avoid failure under various conditions. Safety design covers techniques and features to provide fail-safe design (a design that will not allow the creation of a safety hazard as a result of a failure or mis-operation). Safety design also covers techniques and features to design out hazards for aspects of the product that impact safety. Safety features include safeguards, such as mechanical guards and safety instrucmentation, and warnings. Product features for mechanical integrity, and safety, and their use, when applicable, are similar or the same among various types of mechanical consumer products*. The requirements for mechanical integrity, and performance, control, operation and potential mis-operation, as they relate to safety, and specific safety features are determined primarily by the potential hazards, with considerations of how the product will be used, not the type of product, whether designed and sold as consumer products, or as industrial, commercial and construction equipment.

See theEquipment pagefor mechanical equipment most commonly encountered in Industry, Commercial facilities, Maintenance and Construction use, but which may also be used by consumers.

Table of Contents - Consumer Products and related - links to content on this page

* including items installed in residences

Madden Accident Analysis & Forensic Engineering, through its Senior Forensic Engineer, James D. Madden, P.E., a licensed professional engineer, has performed Accident Investigations, Engineering Analyses and Accident Reconstructionsfor accidents, incidents and cases in the metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Toledo, Warren, Youngstown, Mansfield, Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, Lima, Findlay, Marietta and Steubenville, as well elsewhere throughout Ohio, and the metropolitan areas of Pittsburgh and Erie, as well as elsewhere throughout western and central Pennsylvania, and the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Flint and Port Huron, as well as elsewhere in southern Michigan, and the metropolitan areas of Buffalo and Syracuse, as well as elsewhere in western and central New York state. In many of these areas James D. Madden, P.E. has provided expert reports and testified in the capacity of an Expert Witness in court proceedings, including depositions, arbitrations and/or trials.

Madden Accident Analysis & Forensic Engineering, through its Senior Forensic Engineer James D. Madden, P.E., is available for Accident Investigations, Engineering Analyses, Accident Reconstructions, and testimony in deposition, arbitration and trial, for cases located throughout North America.

The set of categories listed below are provided for the convenience of the user of this webpage in finding particular consumer products, but are not the only way products could be categorized. Thus, if you are looking for a particular product, you may find looking at the complete list of products or using Ctrl-F (Page Search) to be useful in this search. The products listed on this webpage are examples of consumer products analyzed. The listings on this webpage do not include all the consumer products analyzed.

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If parts of the website are missing or distorted, such as a section of the Left Navigation Bar, or a button, try rebooting the page in the browser, one or more times - click on the circle arrow at the left of the website name [URL].

All rights reserved. This website contains photographs which are licensed with restrictions that prohibit downloading, reproduction, re-publication or re-transmission.

Madden Accident Analysis & Forensic Engineering, through its Senior Forensic Engineer, James D. Madden, P.E., a licensed professional engineer, has performed Accident Investigations, Engineering Analyses and Accident Reconstructionsroutinely for accidents, incidents and cases located in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York, in the technical areas which are noted in this website, as well as providing expert reports and testifying in court proceedings in these states in the capacity of an Expert Witness, including depositions, arbitrations and/or trials, with Forensic Engineering work also performed in, and/or for cases in, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, Vermont, Kansas and Utah, with testimony in court in Kansas.

MaddenAccidentAnalysis&ForensicEngineering

over 30 Years Investigating, Analyzing, Reconstructing & Testifying about Accidents